Retro Wednesday: RVD Cashes In MITB Briefcase At One Night Stand

At the second Money in the Bank match, which happened at WrestleMania 22 in 2006, Rob Van Dam continued his road to climbing up the WWE ladder by winning the ladder match, giving him an direct opportunity to become WWE Champion. Just a few weeks later, RVD successfully jumped the hurdle of Shelton Benjamin, defeating him in a title vs. contract match at Backlash. As a result, RVD announced shortly after that he was going to cash in at the ECW pay-per-view, One Night Stand, in June of that year. Interestingly enough, this was the first and only time that a MITB winner formally cashed in his briefcase, until John Cena did it after he won last year.

In one of the most hostile crowds in WWE PPV history, John Cena came to the Hammerstein ballroom in New York, representing everything that the hardcore ECW fans stood against. With their homegrown star as the adversary, the fans showed maximal support for Rob Van Dam.

The match was intense, exhibiting many amazing spots and edge-of your-seat moments. In spite of the impressive win-loss record accrued by John Cena, RVD overcame the odds by defeating him and becoming the WWE Champion—one of only a small number of dual champions in WWE history, and the only superstar to hold the WWE and ECW Championship at the same time, as he was awarded the ECW Championship just a couple days later.

Unfortunately, due to drug possession charges RVD lost both titles in a matter of few weeks, blowing his opportunity to cement himself as a notable world champion.

After a long hiatus from the WWE with the exception of appearing at the Royal Rumble 2009, RVD has another opportunity to become Mr. Money in the Bank. Fittingly, the WWE Champion is John Cena. Seven years later, virtually the same scenario is capable of being mapped out, with RVD cashing in against the current champion.

Does RVD have a high or low chance of winning the Money in the Bank match? Sound off below.